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BaZi · International birth time

Do not convert an overseas birth time straight to Beijing time

Preserve the local clock reading first. Then apply the historical time zone, daylight-saving rule, longitude correction and equation of time in a reviewable sequence.

Updated July 2026 · About 6 minutes · Cultural research guide
Three points to keep
  • Enter the local civil time shown on the birth record.
  • Select a city, not only a country, because time-zone history and longitude are location-specific.
  • When the corrected time is near an hour or solar-term boundary, compare adjacent candidate charts.

1. Four layers of time

1

Original local civil time

This is the clock reading remembered by the family or written on the birth record. It should remain unchanged as the source fact.

2

Historical standard time and daylight saving

A city may have used different UTC offsets in different years. A present-day offset cannot safely be applied to an older birth date.

3

Longitude correction

Legal time zones use a reference meridian. The birth city's longitude can place local solar noon several minutes away from legal noon.

4

Equation of time

Earth's orbit and axial tilt make apparent solar time vary through the year. This correction changes by date and cannot be replaced with one fixed number.

Method rule: true solar time is a derived research value. It does not erase the original local time, and it is not the same as converting every overseas birth to Beijing time.

2. When a boundary check is required

  • The corrected time falls close to a two-hour branch boundary.
  • The date is near Li Chun or another solar-term transition that may change the year or month pillar.
  • Different schools use the beginning or midpoint of the Zi hour as the day boundary.
  • The remembered birth time is approximate rather than minute-accurate.

3. A reviewable workflow

  1. Enter the local date and clock time.
  2. Select the birth city and verify its time zone.
  3. Review UTC offset, longitude difference, equation of time and corrected result.
  4. If a boundary warning appears, compare both candidate charts before interpreting either.

4. Questions

Is true solar time always the only correct method?

No. Schools differ. A rigorous tool preserves both original and corrected time and states the selected method.

Can I generate a chart with only an approximate hour?

Yes, but it should be treated as a candidate-chart study with lower confidence, especially when two hour branches are possible.